The Fragile Years
by someonefromearth
Summary: I place my hands on top of Katniss's bump. "Hi baby! I'm Auntie Annie, I'll see you in a couple of months!" And so the months pass in District 4 pretty slowly when you have the entire clan over at your house.
1. Mother Annie

**Author's Note:**** Okeey. This is my very first multi-chaptered fanfic so feel free to leave me a review on what to improve on. Thanks for reading! x**

The reflection from the mirror is perfect. I want to stand here, freeze this moment and live in it forever. Finnick's hands rest on my shoulders. His beautiful, green eyes apologetic, sad. He's looking directly into the mirror as well. Baby Nikolas is in my arms- sleeping, that is. There, standing in front of me, is what I imagined our future to be. Sadly, it didn't turn out that way.

The Capitol took Finn's life away. There I was in District 13, anticipating the moment when the television would flash alive and announce all the members of his troop remaining were still alive. The first part of my wish came true. The second didn't. That night, at the time where they would publish the faces of the fallen, his was presented. It had to be a lie, it had to. President Snow made a mistake last time, why not again? I jerked my head to where Mrs Everdeen was, but her visage showed pity, a different kind from the last one. Last time, we were notified all members of the troop had passed away. This time, it's just Finnick. This time, it's true. Snow didn't mistake anything.

I was glad Katniss's mother was watching me because if she didn't she'd be a few seconds late catching me. I was about to dash out of the room but her hand grasped my arm and pulled me into a tight embrace. I started thrashing, screaming, wailing, and denying his death but she still held onto me, not saying a word. Of course she couldn't relate to what I felt, even though she lost her spouse also. I didn't lose just my spouse, I lost my entire family. Mags died in the Quarter Quell, and now he did. There was no point in living anymore if there's no one to love or who loves me.

The next few mornings were brutal, I kept vomiting constantly, feeling sick, and getting lost in my own world. Whenever my therapist attempted to start a conversation with me, I just blocked him out; covering my ears and squeezing my eyes shut. Every moment I spend in my head is another moment I had with Finnick. I love my world. I hated when I got shaken back into reality.

Everything is different now, it's been 15 years. Turns out my vomiting and sickness weren't because of Finnick. Well, it was _partly_ his fault. I learned I was pregnant, and it was his child. I was finally given someone to love. Gale was invited for a job at Two, Johanna back at Seven chopping trees like there's no tomorrow. She's back to her old self, non-dependent on morphling with no one to love. She visits me once a year for a month since the rebellion was over. I heard she visits Gale the most to keep him company. It's a good thing; their arrogance is good for each other. They probably hang out with Enobaria once in a while, Gale once wrote to me that he tried to make them get along, but it resulted in a night of heavy cussing. Beetee is somewhere in three working with electrical wires and such. He's living a long life for a Victor. It's funny how District Twelve used to have the least victors and now they have the most remaining. Haymitch is doing is usual. Peeta opened up a new bakery, "The Everlark Goods". Katniss is pregnant-

_Katniss is _pregnant. I snap back into my life and open my eyes. The mirror's reflection is different. I'm standing alone. Baby Nikolas isn't a baby no more. He's fourteen. Scary how fast time flies. I'm 35 now, and it's been 15 years since the rebellion. Katniss finally agreed on a child with Peeta and they're on a train right now along with Haymitch to District Four. She wants to deliver the baby here with her mother as the doctor. In fact, they're not the only ones on a train at the current moment. Effie wants to see a new "bundle of joy" and will probably take a train when it's announced that she's in the hospital. Johanna is boarding the train now since Two is closer than Twelve. Enobaria is joining her, she feels the need to thank Katniss for letting her live although she was close to the Capitol. But Gale is still ashamed to come.

"When are they coming mom?" Nikolas's voice startles me. I turn around to face my son and all I see are Finnick's sea green eyes. Nikolas looks every bit like Finnick except he hasn't developed the muscles yet and prefers reading to athletic activities. My son enjoys my vivid stories of my Hunger Games, Finn's, Katniss's and Peeta's, the Quell, but I don't dare tell him about the rebellion. He's mature for his age, but I'm not ready to tell him. I'm afraid I might break down in the middle of it and he'll have to comfort me. By now I'm lost in my own deep thoughts, staring into space and forgot his question. "Mom?"

I laugh at myself for losing his question. "Yes?"

"When are they coming? Well- actually, more like arriving. It's been so long since I met Aunt Katniss and Uncle Peeta, I'm afraid they've changed. And I've never been in contact with Effie, Enobaria, or Haymitch."

I decide now is the time to give my child some advice before meeting these powerful adults. "They're arriving soon. Now, when you meet them, call Effie Effie, or , whatever you like. Tell her it's great to finally to meet her. Greet Enobaria with "Ms Enobaria", calling her by her first name will upset her. Finally, it's Mr Abernathy. When you two grow close then you call him Haymitch, okay?"

"Okay."

"Ready to go?"

"Ready."

Nikolas and I are at the train station waiting for the Mellark's train. It should arrive any minute. I'm wearing an Aztec dress with a crochet back and Nikolas is dressed in a plain collared shirt and dress pants. We sit on the bench in silence while other citizens of Panem rush past in a hurry to reach their destination. It seemed like hours but we only waited for 45 minutes until a train flashing "FROM DISTRICT 12" stopped in front of the station.

**What'd you guys think? I have the entire plot planned out, my I might alter things a bit while writing. I'm so excited! Please review! - Vivien x**


	2. The Train

****Katniss****

Clove is running towards me with all sorts of knives in her vest pockets. I'm trying to dash away but my baby is holding me back. Soon, she catches up and tackles me to the ground, causing blood to trickle down my leg. If I didn't know her better she's about to dig her knife into my stomach. No. I'm not letting her do that. Even if I'm so vulnerable at the moment, I can depend on someone else to save me. "Peeta!" I scream, "Peeta, help!"

Clove has the same look of exasperation on her face as she did the day of the feast. She's ready to stab it in. "Where's lover boy?" Her voice echoes in my ear. By now I'm flailing my arms to avoid her at any cause, "Somewhere down by the river. We killed Rue, and now we're killing this one too." She pokes at my stomach. "Killing two birds with one stone," she sneers.

I'm suddenly losing hope. What if Peeta _is_ dead? "Peeta! Help me," I choked out.

"Katniss!" I hear the scream, "Katniss, I'm coming!" Peeta's coming closer. I'm scared for him now. What if Cato is around the corner? "Katniss!" Peeta is screaming my name out, terrified. My eyes widened when I witnessed his leg jump out of the woods, however I lost him when a woman with spiky hair hurtled herself at him. Her eyes were growing huge, larger than usual.

"Peeta!" I'm about to get up and run towards him until my senses snap back to me. I'm still pinned to the earth by Clove. "Run!"

"Katniss, it's okay. I'm here, open your eyes," Although he's far away, my ears are able to hear his softest whisper, "Sshh, Katniss relax." I understand what he's telling me to do now. I force my eyelids open and see him right above me, stroking my hair. He props me up until I'm sitting on the bed in the Capitol train and lays his arm around my shoulder.

"Peeta," I whimper, "You were almost killed. Johanna was going to murder you-"

"Why would she do that? Johanna is our friend, no longer our enemy. We're not in the Games anymore. It's over. Look out the window, you'll like the view." I turn my head to face the tidal waves hitting the shore, and am about to scowl at the reminder of the Quell when I realize he's hinting off something else. "We're almost at District 4. We're going to see Annie and Nikolas soon."

That's right. We're visiting District 4 to deliver my baby. _Our baby. The baby Peeta and I produced. _I rest my hands on my ever-growing stomach. "If this gets any bigger, I'm scheduling an appointment to switch the baby for you to carry." My husband laughs at this.

"Come on love, let's grab something to eat. Baby must be hungry." And right he was. As much as I consumed, I had to eat more. I went from drinking a cup of juice to gobbling a bagel, two cupcakes, one platter of rice and mini brownies. Peeta watches me and smiles, "You're amazing, you know that Katniss?"

"Shut up," I manage to grumble out before I stuff another brownie into my mouth, "I think we arrive in 1 minute. Let's pack up our things."

Peeta and I wipe our mouths and scramble to stuff all the items we have taken out during the trip. There is the box of "treasures" I bring around whenever I travel, which includes the pearl he gifted me, the pin, and a couples of leaves to remind me of the forest back in Twelve. Of course, the leaves are pressed between pages in the book we made. I open to the page where we would soon be filling in. I already labeled it and Peeta painted a border quoting "Our Firstborn". I shiver at the thought of bringing someone to the world where I promised my sixteen year old self that I'm never having kids.

"Are you done?" I ask him. I didn't need any Capitol attendants waiting on us and assisting us when we can pack ourselves.

"Arriving at District 4: fishing," the intercom voices. It reminded me of the voice which called me into the Training Center. I don't need a reminder of that.

"Yeah, almost." How long is this hallway that it takes Peeta that long to reply? "I've got something of yours that you might thank me for remembering to get."

What the hell is he talking about? What am I forgetting that is so important? Maybe it's this…"HAYMITCH, COME OUT WE'RE HERE."

"SHUT UP KATNISS, DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO WORK WITH ALCOHOL? OH WAIT, YOU DO, BUT YOU DIDN'T FUNCTION ANY BETTER THAN I DO NOW." My body heats up in frustration. I've only been drunk once, and it was because Snow had dragged me back into the Games. In other words, I was going to get killed. Eventually, our mentor does step out, trying to contain his hangover. "Alright, unless we're stepping out of this train _now, _I do not see the rush to get me steady."

I smile with comfort. Haymitch, Peeta and I, we're like a family now. There are no awkward silences, or uncomfortable moments, we replace the many people we have lost. Annie, Beetee, and Johanna are like our relatives. So close, yet so distanced. This is why it's important to reunite with Annie this time.

"Arrival at District 4." I wince at the screech of train wheels and Haymitch pulls off an Annie; covering his ears and shouting, "Dammit!"

"See Haymitch, I woke you up just in time," I prove our argument right.

"To hear this? Idiot," he grunts. "Oh look, your sunshine is here. Hello boy!" Haymitch waves to Peeta, who wears a shade of annoyed on his face.

"I wish you would sober up, I'm not a boy," he then points to the bottle, "And you're too old to drink this much liquor. By the way love, I managed to bring that the novel you were reading on the train, the Capitol attendant let me take it. You're going to have to tell me what's got you clinged onto that for the past few hours; you barely have enough patience nowadays."

So _that's_ what Peeta was talking about- the novel. I think it's a series though, so I'm unsure which one I'm reading. It's called _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire._ By the name I'm guessing it's some sort of historical classic. Wouldn't be surprised if it was, the author is well descriptive and her words bring the characters to life.

Haymitch interrupts. "Sorry to break this 'moment'," I can feel his voice rising, "But we arrived at District Four, and I would like to get outside!" I roll my eyes at his intoxicated state, but to be honest I'm aflutter to see Annie and Nikolas.

As we step outside we're blown with a gust of warm breeze from the beaches of Four, even though we're at the train station. A few meters away I see Annie prodding herself up to greet us. It's ironic because I'm the one with the pregnant stomach, not her, yet I'm walking just fine. We walk straight into each other's arms and embrace.

"Welcome back, Katniss," she whispers. Then, her hands reach over my bump and feels it. "Hi baby! I'm Auntie Odair, and you're going to meet me in a couple of weeks!" Her smile filled with hope melts my heart. I take her hands in mine and stretch my arms far out.

"I missed you," I mouthed. The moment is too breathtaking to let any sort of noise interrupt. But it had to end. After my moment with Annie, her son Nikolas walks up.

"Hi Nikolas, goodness you're growing," It felt strange to hear that come out of my mouth. Usually I hear these commentaries from Effie.

"Yeah, that means mother's feeding me well," he smirks, "I'm sure you've been feeding your child the same?"

I smile and nod. Poor Nikolas, trying to keep a conversation going, but I want to focus on another topic. In a low voice I ask, "Does your mom still stare at places or cover her ears?"

Nikolas shifts around until he answers. "Often, but it doesn't scare me anymore. She told me she's just thinking or daydreaming. I believe explaining it like that is the simplest way." _Smart boy, knowing what your mother wants._ Speaking of his mother, I turn around to see her in a developed conversation with Peeta. Beside them is Haymitch, standing but swaying from side to side. "Here, let me introduce you to my mentor years back."

We walk up to him, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge our presence. "Haymitch, this is Annie's son, Nikolas."

"How are you, Mr Abernathy? I'm Nikolas Odair." Nikolas offers his hand. _Must have got tips from Annie._

"Odair? As in Finnick's son? Just as good looking, you're gonna get the ladies when you grow up, or are you already?" Haymitch laughs at his joke, "Kidding. Good to meet ya, boy."

A wave of fatigue spreads all over my body. "Annie, I'm exasperated. Can we go back to your home now?" Annie's expression changes from content to upset.

"Sorry Katniss, but we have to wait for Johanna and Enobaria. They're coming soon, don't worry."

_Wait who?_ "Johanna Mason and Enobaria from District 2? I never knew they were coming."

"But they told me they notified you through letters-"Annie gets interrupted by a District Two train which pops out two women, one of which is screaming.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! TALK TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, AND MY SPIT FLIES IN YOUR FACE. NOT YOUR SUIT, YOUR FACE_! Bitch_," the first one mutters. The second female stumbles out cackling. "Johanna, you need to calm yourself. They just complained about the mess you made."

"Okay, but they didn't need to make it sound like I'm a child who threw stuff around the room for no particular reason. I couldn't find my necklace. Those cunts would have panicked over it more than I did," she retorts. Johanna seems to remember why she is here again and snaps her head towards us. "Oh. Surprise, you idiots! And I brought Enobaria with me this time. Just in case you can't push the baby out, she can rip your stomach open to retrieve it!" She flashes an award winning bitch smile. Johanna is literally family now, but that doesn't make her any less of a bitch.

"_What the hell did I drag myself into," _someone with alcohol breath behind me mutters.


	3. Lay off the Booze

_ This bitch, _I complain, _needs to drink some booze and lay it off for a minute or two. _Ever since Johanna had gotten off the train, she hasn't stopped talking. And then off to a corner is , sharing cooking tips with Annie Odair. Katniss and Enobaria, along with that bitch are sitting comfortably around the dining area of Annie's home in the Victor Village. _Probably discussing baby names, well shouldn't miss out on that fun now should I. _

"I was thinking maybe something like Peru, Peru Mellark doesn't sound bad does it?" Katniss questions. I snort at this. Maybe no one can tell, but Peru is the combination of two people she truly cared about. If she names her daughter after them she'd live a life of grief, so I decide to walk up and save her from this.

"Sweetheart, would you really want to name your child after horrid memories?" She glares at me. _Silly child._ It only feels like yesterday the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games ended. Now my winning tribute is sixteen years older than her winning age, and I can feel her already about to snarl at me.

"Since when were you my conscience?" she snaps. She's angry I'm right.

"Yell at me all you want, but I know what you're thinking."

"Lay off the booze, Haymitch."

I whip my head around. Oh! Her mouth is open again. "Consider buying some tape for your mouth, Mason." Enobaria chuckles at this.

"Consider letting them start a family happily!"

"I am, I want them to be happy. But their lives would be depressing if Little Miss Mockingjay names the baby after two dead twelve and thirteen year olds!"

I stumble – No, I get shoved back by Katniss. "_Don't judge my decisions_," she hisses at me. I don't need any warnings or hints to know her next move is a slap across the face.

"Just because you don't have a family doesn't mean others should be as miserable." Johanna retorts. And that's when I drop the bomb.

"Me? Without a family? LOOK WHO'S TALKING! You – _Johanna Mason – _you let Snow murder your family, your love interest, maybe even some of your friends. Why? BECAUSE YOU REFUSED TO PROSTITUTE YOURSELF! This just shows how _selfish,_ _and heartless_ you are."

Johanna's face turns from steaming red to gloomy swept with all her dark memories. Then she starts stammering and screams.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME! I was told by my parents not to obey to his orders! They said we'll get through it! And you know what? We did! We fucking did! But over a quarter of Panem has died because we never bothered to make a move earlier!" Tears are streaming down her face. This is the first time I've seen her cry. "I don't have anyone else to love, Haymitch. And just when I reconsidered by catchphrase, you gave me a reason to keep it. So thanks a lot for the pep-talk. Fuck you."

The room is completely silent except for the whimpers and mumbles from the houseowner. The boy is hugging her and whispering soothing things while Peeta steps up. "We've all been through hell and back. It's been a long time since happiness spread through Panem. Please respect Katniss's decisions. We want to be as happy as Annie and Nikolas." I laugh at the last statement.

"You think Annie is happy? Of course she is, but she never will be fully content with her life. Her husband was killed by lizard mutts! You think anyone can erase the memory of a loved one?"

I must have shocked everyone because I mentioned Finnick. That's when Annie stops whimpering and stares out the window, face wet of tears. Her emotions range from lost of hope to just a dead, blank stare. Suddenly, she gets up and dashes out the door. "Mom!" the boy shouts.

"I'll go after her," Johanna demands. Before she leaves the door, she sends me a death glare.

I sit back down. Katniss isn't angry with me no more; she understands what I go through. Yet, she walks towards her designated guest room. "Peeta come with me," she mumbles. And the husband follows the wife.

Who's left is Enobaria and the boy. Enobaria is the one to speak up first. "I don't know what to say," and she too shuffles out of the living room. That leaves me with the boy.

He's not shooting me a dirty look – it is more like a look of disappointment. Like he's disappointed because I've given him a – what is that called – a bad, terrible, first impression. The Nikolas boy clears his throat and mumbles "There's some tea on the counter if you want an alternate beverage" before he leaves as well.

So here I am, chasing everyone out of my life again – except maybe Peeta and Katniss, they're family. I decide to pour myself a cup of tea and toss the bottle of beer into a disposer.

**Sorry this one's so short, I'm writing two fics at a time! Enjoy and review this maybe? x -Vivien**


	4. Memories of Finnick

I blame Haymitch for this. I blame Haymitch for this. _Annie was perfectly fine, until he began to act like a dickhead and ruin the conversation Katniss, Enobaria, and I had. _Since I'm the only one familiar with District Four, it's my responsibility to look for Annie because of Haymitch's actions. He can go die in a ditch. I wouldn't mind at this moment, for the reason that I've ran around the border of the beach three times already and did not see a clue of Annie's existence here recently. _God dammit Annie, where the hell are you? If I were you, where would I be?_

_I am Annie Odair. I'm the victor of the Seventieth Annual Hunger Games. I won by mistake. I fell in love with Finnick Odair, another victor who had to go back into the Games for the Third Quarter Quell. He, along with Katniss and Beetee were retrieved by a hovercraft from Thirteen. I, along with Peeta, Johanna, and Enobaria, were held captive in the Capitol and tortured. Peeta and Johanna had it the worst _(as I assumed)_. After District Thirteen rescued us I married Finnick, but not for long he flew straight to the Capitol to fight in the war. He died. We all decided to bury him home, but not on the beach (that would scare others, as well as me). Finn's grave sits at a secluded area of the beach hiding behind a group of trees just a few hundred meters away from my house-_

I unsealed by eyes to check my surroundings and see which direction I'm in. I don't see the woods anywhere, they can only be visible once I'm at Annie's house. So I jog my way to it, and am about to dash into the woods when I thought pops into my mind. _What if she came back already? _Just in case, I step inside the kitchen and see a shoe. Possibly Peeta's, planning out dinner. "Peeta, did Annie come ba-"

"First off, I'm not Peeta. Second, no she did not come back." Ugh. Fuck my life. I shoot Haymitch a hard, stone-cold glare before I turn around and run into the forest.

My feet never retired from all the hard training I did for the Games. They were as light as air when I swept through and past trees. _Keep running Johanna, _I tell myself, _you're almost there._ And no surprise I saw a grown woman curled up into a ball in front of her husband's grave; body racking of sobs. I don't know what better to do than slowly walk up to her. She gasped when I laid my hands on her shoulders.

"Sshh, it's okay, it's just me. Hello," I whisper to her. I wrap my arms around hers and curl up beside her. She continued to wail for a good ten minutes. And I let her, because if I were in her place this would be exactly what I would do.

"I-I don't understand!" she stammers, "Why didn't Snow kill me instead? This is torture Johanna."

That, I cannot answer. Why didn't Snow kill Annie? Surely no one would care except a few victors from the farther districts. Here, in the Career districts and the Capitol, no one could care less if a mental victor was to be terminated. So I go with "If you were dead, Nikolas wouldn't be here."

This seems to soften up her intense crying, but she stares off into space for a while before she responds. "That is true. Oh my god Jo, everything is so different now. It's been such a long time since I've had this feeling. I-I was probably hiding it from Nikolas, trying to be strong and all, but I guess now I'm not fooling anyone am I?"

"No, you're not."

Finally, it was sunset when her cries turned into sniffles and the racking of her body decreased. We decided to lay down side by side in front of Finnick's stone, enjoying the silence we share, but she's the first to break it. Annie pops up the question I've been dying to answer without an excuse.

"Do you miss him?" And at that moment, I swear I stared into space just like Annie did. I remember all the amazing times we had together: Sneaking out of the Hunger Games' suites to hang out at the roof, getting scolded by Escorts, stealing alcohol from Haymitch and Chaff, insulting Finnick's "dates", sleeping in each other's beds just so we could discuss things in private. I remember a conversation going like this:

"_I wish Annie would be her old self again." Finnick's sea green eyes were staring at a wall, probably picturing her from a distance._

_ "Tell me, what was she like before the whole incident?" I was genuinely curious._

_ "She taught me how to fish." He grins from ear to ear. "Her father was a fisherman. Back then I only trained for the Games, so I had no District skills. I tried to impress some girls during the summer (little did I know I didn't need any skill) but ended up failing miserably. I fell for her because not only was she unimpressed with my attempt, but we spent hours during weekends fishing and just hanging on the boardwalk. She would always smile, crack some jokes, act normal, and ignore the other females gaping in awe. Once, she told me I'm no different than anyone else if you got to know me."_

_ "I see," I whisper._

_ Finn snaps out of his flashback. "What about you? Any love interests home?"_

_ "'Accidental deaths'." In reality, I refused to prostitute myself around the Capitol so President Snow arranged death sentences for my family and closests people. Odair understands._

_ "I'm sorry," he whispers._

_ "Don't be, it's not your fault I'm constantly losing the ones I care about most." _

_ He holds my shoulders and stares at me for a long, meaningful time. If he hadn't told me he was in love with Annie I would have thought he was about to kiss me. He opens his mouth and whimpers, "In Panem, it's better to be dead than alive."_

We had that conversation during the Seventy-Third Hunger Games. That was the last conversation we shared in that room until next year, the near Katniss and Peeta were reaped. Right after we watched all the reapings, we crawled into my bed together for another night and huddled close to each other.

"_Seems determined, the female from Twelve," he mumbled. I snorted at this._

_ "She seems deadly to me. The look on her face isn't the most familiar expression when outer districts are reaped." The Katniss girl caught my attention so much I nearly forgot about the other boy. "And the look on the boy, when they shook hands! I'm not sure if you caught it, but when they shared eye contact, it was like their eyes glistened from the tragic memories of their past. Katniss seesed strong, there's going to be more bets on Twelve this year, I can already tell._

_ "What about the Cato kid? Not to mention the Careers in general."_

_ "Exactly, Finn. Career districts. Luxurious, great life there. Majority of the children focus on training because they don't need to worry about feeding their family. Now, how do you think the outer Districts can have victors at all? It's those special years, where a skilled, rebellious tribute is chosen, and they already have some sort of strength built up inside of them from all the stress. The outer Districts are unforgiving, Finn, especially the stronger citizens. And the Katniss girl is one of them." _

Suddenly I remember Annie asked me a question. I must have been quiet for a period of time because she repeats the question "Johanna? Do you miss him? Finnick?" She shivers at the mention of this name.

There's no doubt about this. I know the answer. I knew the answer a long time ago. The old Johanna who had no one to love was long gone. I have Annie and Nikolas. I have Katniss. Maybe Peeta and Enobaria. Heck, throw in Haymitch and Effie if I want to look sociable. I don't have to hide my weaknesses anymore, the war is over. And Finnick will always be watching over me.

"Every day, all the time."

**Howdy y'all. I'm sorry for the late posts, exams are coming up and I have to complete summatives so this story, along with "Panem? It's the 21****st**** Century" will release new chapters much more slowly until the end of June. Thanks and much love, Vivien x R&R? **


	5. Comforts of Silence

** Done all my summatives and exams! Man, I missed I apologize greatly for the long wait, I had time to kill from the course of this week, but I decided to do other things (in other words marathons of childhood shows) Hope you all had an excellent first two or three days of summer!**

When we arrived back home, Nikolas was already assisting Peeta setting up the table. I can hear Enobaria in the shover, which leaves Haymitch to drink and Katniss to rest or accompany him.

"Well, this is another day I don't have to cook," Johanna sighs and walks towards the dining table to settle herself down. I-well, I just stand there; still startled after that deep conversation with Johanna. It seems like she was meddling into my mind because she's staring straight at me when she says, "Come sit with me."

I'd love to spend more time with Jo, but I need my husband at the moment. "No thanks, I'm gonna head to my room for a bit."

Luckily for me she shrugs it off. _Whew._ As I slowly walked up the stairs I caught a glimpse of a figure emerging from my door. Did Finnick hear my request and fulfill it? "Oh my gosh, Finn-"

"Annie, Finnick's not here anymore." Enobaria informs be softly. Enobaria's standing in front of my full-length mirror, in the middle of tying up her hair, when she lifts my brush up. "Whoa, your hair's a mess, need to fix that?"

"Yes, please," I whisper and sit in the chair placed on my bedroom balcony. It doesn't take long for her to sink the hairbrush into my tangled locks of hair.

"So, want to tell me what happened?"

"What?"

"You ran away."

"Oh." I didn't want to tell anyone, it was more like a thing between Johanna and I, but something makes me lurch it out. "I ran to Finn's grave."

"Oh." There was a long awkward pause before either of us spoke again. "Would you like to talk about it?"

_No, not really. _"Um, I guess this shouting and cussing was shocking; I mean I haven't heard any commotion for nearly two years." The first four years post-rebellion consisted of Johanna babysitting Nikolas while checking up on me. Those years episodes of Finnick's death kept flashing in and out of my mind. The thought of his death itself lead me to jerk my head around and stare at the photograph I have of our wedding (we buried a copy in his grave). Finn has yet to appear more handsome than ever standing next to that blob in one of Katniss's Victory Tour gowns. I remember that day like it was last week.

"Annie? Did you hear me?" _Shoot. _I zoned out again.

"No?" My "hair-stylist" sighs.

"I asked if you were comfortable with our stay, you know, the big reunion of the remaining tributes because Katniss got bloated with life." I giggle at this. "No offense, but you aren't one for crowds, are you?"

"Well I did have to sit in a plane with twenty-three other adolescents who were about to face their imminent death." As soon as it slipped through my tongue I wished I could hold it back. I covered my mouth, eyes wide. Then I see him, _Jehromin._ His head is attached to his neck (thank goodness) but blood was spewing out like a waterfall. I hear the cackles from the Careers and my own bloodcurdling scream. "Jehromin! Jehromin!"

Next thing I know his head drops and rolls to my feet. _No, no, no. Annie wake up. It's okay. This is the past. Everything is fine now. _

_ Finn? _ I think. _Are you there?_

_ No, I'm just speaking in your head. Listen, stay strong darling. Do it for Nik. Do it for Katniss and Peeta's baby. Prove Haymitch wrong. Do it for me._

And then he flashed out. "Annie?" she whispers.

I flutter my eyes open to face Enobaria.

"He fulfilled my wish."

We are now sitting around the dining table. I'm at one end, Nikolas to one side of me, along with Enobaria and Jo. On the other side we have Peeta, Katniss, then finally Haymitch. If he were still alive he'd be sitting at the other end. The dinner was some foreign District Twelve pasta which Peeta invented; I must note it was very formal tasting. Classic, but not Capitol food. It was not entirely silent, except for the clangs of forks and knives echoing softly against the walls. Thankfully Katniss clears her throat. We gave her the bigger portion, yet she manages to gobble it all down first. I wasn't like that

"If any of you are interested, we can sit around and view the book Peeta, Haymitch, and I drafted."

So that is how we spent our first night here in my house. Peeta boiled us all some hot historic chamomile tea as we take a trip down memory lane with the pictures of the deceased. There's this Rue girl I remember from the Seventy-Fourth Games, Primrose Everdeen, Peeta's stylist Portia, Katniss's stylist Cinna, a photo of this red haired girl who resembles a fox, Haymitch's District partner, Maysilee Donner, I believe, Mags, a few soldiers, Finnick, the list goes on. Before we knew it, it was a quarter to eleven. Nikolas is the first to hit the hay, then Haymitch because he's still hungover. Enobaria goes after she finishes sipping her tea. Jo and I leave second last and I invite her to sleep in my room (I feel safer with somebody in presence) and we lift the bed over. The couple stays late for "baby planning". The voices of the Mellarks were so faint and soothing it sent shivers down my spine when Katniss gasped two hours after the clock struck twelve.

**You know, nothing goes wrong when you write a review… I don't care! Just write me something! Please! **


	6. Happily Little Family

** I'm not sure how long this chapter is, I wrote it by hand. So whatever you get is whatever you get! I'm certain it's lengthy though…**

"Katniss, are you alright? Is the baby alright?" Oh my goodness, I cannot even imagine my life if I knew I did some harm to my baby. All I did was embrace my wife tightly. I wanted to tell her I still cannot believe any of this is true. Twenty years ago I never would have considered dreaming about a future with her. Now this isn't the love story I'd prefer, in fact I could do without the Hunger Games and war to fall in love. But all this makes a happy ending even better, no?

I'm more than exhilarated to finally have a child (it seems like too much to ask for, my childhood crush to marry me and have a kid with her), but the responsibilities and tasks of parenthood are overwhelming. Not only am I losing sleep, but Katniss suggested we consume everything healthy until delivery. Except cheese buns, can't deny the cheese buns.

"Yeah I'm fine, but Peeta, it kicked me." Staring at her eyes I can tell she's smiling, and it doesn't take me long to grin from ear to ear either.

"That's great – no, amazing – fantastic!" I laughed of relief and pulled my wife on top of me and pressed our lips together. It's not an intense kiss, more like innocent but meaningful. Unfortunately our moment did not last long before we heard footsteps coming down the stairwell and had to break apart. A flush of dark hair appeared in the dim light.

"Is everything alright?" Annie questioned.

"The ba -"

"Everything's fine." Katniss cuts me off. I shoot her a confused look.

Annie seemed to go with the flow, "Oh, okay then. I thought I heard a gasp, must have been drifting off to sleep, sorry for interrupting. Her facial expression changed from paranoia to embarrassment.

I felt sympathy for Annie, there was nothing to apologize for. In fact, I was about to spill the truth and confirm what she hard but Katniss came up with a better excuse.

"Yeah, that was me. I just realized my novel seems to be nowhere at my sight." This seems to calm her down a bit.

"Oh, I saw it in the dining room, placed on top of Haymitch's luggage." She shuffles over into the other room. In her nightgown and slippers, she looks ten years younger, and it fascinates me; fascinates me enough to feel the urge to sketch her. However, I put that thought aside to face the love of my life

She seemed to expect my upcoming question because she responds before I could ask. "I woke her up. If I told her the reason she'd feel the need to stay and begin a conversation about it, which is completely unnecessary. She doesn't need to worry about our life. She's already done enough for us," Katniss harshly whispers. Her breath smells like the sweet lemon pudding we ate for dessert.

"Kat, Annie's had a child before and can be a great help."

My wife sighs. "Fine, I'll tell her in the morning, if she wakes up first. If you'd like, you can join me, but I prefer to tell her alone."

"Why?" I ask, but I don't get my answer because Annie's shuffling into the room again with the thick novel I collected from the train.

"Here you go. Goodnight," young-looking Annie yawns and trod back up the steps. Katniss never answered my question; a good subject change should do.

"So, are you eventually going to tell me about this book?" The question brings up her smile.

"It's the fourth one in a seven-book series, I think," Katniss furrows her brows, "This boy, Harry, joins a competition for eternal glory called the Triwizard Tournament. Only contestants who submitted their name in this goblet – hence, the title _Goblet of Fire – _can be selected to compete, but Harry never put his name in. Anyways, he goes through a set of tasks – I've only read past the task where he has to collect an egg that's being guarded by a dragon."

Kat told me it's fine if I ask questions about the Games, since I was hijacked, so I don't reconsider before speaking. "Is the Tournament similar to the Games?" Thankfully Katniss' expression stays subtle.

"Not quite. You see, the contestants do get injured, but not killed. And if they are injured, there is a hospital wing to heal them back with magic and potions before they re-enter the competition. Oh! I forgot to mention! Harry's a wizard! He attends an academy named Hogwarts, where other witches and wizards are enrolled as well." I must have looked lost because she frowns and mumbles, "It's getting late, you must be tired." In which, I let out a small chuckle.

"Good assumption. Come on, let's get some sleep. The baby wouldn't want momma to stress out because of it." My wife grunts at my commentary.

"Shut up. Grab me a cheese bun on the way, will you Peeta?" When we reached the staircase I hold her hand and place the other around her waist each step we take. I can tell she's getting irritated. "I'm pregnant, not handicap," She snapped.

I let go of her hand to open the door to our temporary bedroom whilst frowning. "The baby's fragile, you know! Here – let me help you up onto the bed." After lifting her up (by the way, she did not agree with it), I proudly skip back to my side. Katniss snorts.

"What are you so content for?" I cheekily grin at her.

I'm finally having a child with the woman I love," I reply happily and wrap an arm around her. None of her words get into my hearing senses because I've already drifted off to sleep, dreaming about Katniss holding the baby while I stroke his/her chubby cheeks. The mixture of grey and blue eyes amazes me throughout the night.

**Hmm, considering it's two pages and half I thought it would be longer. Guess not :/ Oh well, review? :]**


	7. Important Announcement

** I know I don't get a lot of reviews and readers from this, and I'm very thankful for those of you who did add my story to your alerts or favourites, or reviewed. The reviews are absolutely lovely. Unfortunately, I have major writer's block and do not know how to continue. **

** I've got everything planned out, there are just a few more chapters left, but I'm afraid it'll sound very tedious. Believe me, I tried writing the next chapter, it was extremely hard and boring. So I guess I'm here to announce that I will either ****go on a hiatus**** (I do not know for how long) or ****discontinue the story.**** There are two reasons why I decided not to write this for a while. A: I'm losing interest, and B: I'm writing two others stories. Right now I choose to focus on writing **Panem? It's the 21st Century (**which is already out for a while, if you'd like to check it out) and writing drafts for a **Clato/other girl fanfic** (which will be published in about a week or so, once I've gotten a few chapters done).**

** So here's the major problem: SHOULD I POST A SUMMARY OF THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS? **

**If I do: **You'll know everything that will happen t'il the very end, and if I choose to come back from my hiatus you'll know what will be coming up in the next chapters. Plus, there's a possibility I might never come back to this story, because the whole plot is already published.

**If I don't: **You'll have to wait for me to discover techniques which will make this story more interesting! However on the bright side, _no spoilers!_

**Once again, I'm terribly sorry, but I'd really appreciate it if at least one person tells me what to do. Should I post a summary or not? Please and thank you. :] **

**Much love, someonefromearth**

**Happy Reading!**


	8. My Decision

**Those of you who read **_**Panem? It's the 21**__**st**__** Century**_** will know I'm working on the summaries. Again I'm very sorry about this and the fact you expected this update to be the summaries. It will most likely be uploaded next Saturday or Sunday. Thank you, and much love. **


	9. The Summaries

**So um, I've written the summaries of each chapter for those of you who are interested. **

_**Chapter 8 – Career District Problems**_

This is basically from Nikolas' point of view. Remember how Katniss said she was gonna tell Annie about the kick? Okay so she got her wish: Annie did wake up, but so did her son. He overheard their conversation where Annie spills out fifteen years of emotions – including how she even considered getting an abortion because she wanted to raise a child with Finnick, not by herself. But Finnick's voice appeared in her dreams and somehow convinced her to keep the child. Nikolas feels shock from everything he's heard, especially the part where Annie lowers her voice to inform Katniss she sometimes forgets Nikolas is there. He runs out of the house to where Finn's grave is and cries for a lengthy time.

Back in the household Annie is having another one of her episodes. Katniss tries to calm her down but nothing works. Annie shoves Katniss down and runs off while Katniss cries in pain. No matter how hard she tried to hide her weeping, it eventually woke up Enobaria. At first, she was confused, so she decided to wake Johanna and ask what's going on while Katniss screams. Johanna scolds Enobaria for her stubbornness and calls for an ambulance while Haymitch is snoozing peacefully from the alcohol. Peeta? Let's just say he heard Annie's scream and was reminded of the torture facility in the Capitol. In other words, he goes a little off too.

_**Chapter 9 – Deep Talks**_

__This chapter is full of scenes of Katniss and Enobaria bonding, since Johanna had to stay back to wake Peeta from his episode and find Annie and Nikolas. Katniss finally sees her mother after ten years of staying in District Twelve, but unfortunately they couldn't talk for long because you know – Katniss was in pain. Meanwhile in the waiting room (this is from Enobaria's POV by the way), Enobaria contemplates why Katniss would spare her life when she signed the Mockingjay Deal. On the contrary, instead of silent deep thoughts Katniss is rewarded with a syringe jabbed into her neck so the doctors could work on her body to stop the bleeding from the lower area. As a result, her baby has already rotated head first and will need to give birth very soon.

So back in Annie's side of District Four. Our dear Jo decided to wake Peeta up before she went to search Annie or Nikolas, knowing their sane would grow back in a matter of time. To wake him up she screamed, as they are familiar with each other's screams from the Capitol torture. Peeta is out of his trance and Jo quickly warns him that Katniss is in the hospital and tells him to bring Haymitch while she runs out to find Annie and Nikolas. Luckily Haymitch strikes back at mentor mode and dials Effie's number and she takes a train immediately.

Annie gets out of her sane because "Finnick" speaks to her again. However before she was covering her ears and moaning out because she denies the fact she can hear him. After walking home and no one is home, she assumes they all ran away because she went a little "off". Thrashing and screaming, she awakes her neighbours and they send her to the hospital (haha), and she eventually learns "someone" has to deliver a child only eight months old. "_Katniss," _she whispers and jumps out of the hospital bed.

_**Chapter 10 – Hazelle **__(sorry if you didn't like this, I'm not familiar with hospital vocabulary)_

From Effie's POV starting from the train scene where she excitedly calls everyone from the Capitol informing them that Katniss is giving birth and she will be there to experience it all.

Enobaria is out waiting, threatening to bite her neck if she makes any sort of squeal or shows signs of excitement. Then she leads her into the waiting room. They can hear her screaming and cursing from outside. Peeta is in there to support her (like every loving husband would) while everyone from Annie's home is outside, impatiently waiting. Nikolas is no one to be found.

From Katniss' perspective the pain is searing. She's never experienced anything like this. "I can't do it. I'm sorry Peeta," she cries in despair.

"Don't give up Katniss, once it's all over I'll bake you a huge pile of cheese buns to celebrate the birth of a wonderful human being." It takes a few dramatic pushes and a lot of crying and blood for baby Mellark to finally come out of the womb. It was girl (of course)!

Peeta let Katniss name the child, since he wanted the kid. At first Katniss refused, but then she realized naming a child might be a once in a lifetime thing. She wanted to name her daughter someone who she had always had memorable moments with. When she called her daughter she doesn't want to mourn the tragic memories of them. Not Prim. Not Rue. Not Clove. Not Annie. Not Johanna. Not Posy. Not Sae. No Capitol names. _Hazelle._


End file.
